The American Film Institute (AFI) today revealed a special event at AFI Fest 2026 presented by Canva, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood With Quentin Tarantino.” The evening will include a conversation with Academy Award-winning filmmaker Quentin Tarantino following a screening of “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” Ahead of David Fincher’s highly anticipated new film “The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth,” the festival will revisit Cliff Booth’s original misadventures on Friday, October 23 at the TCL Chinese Theatre, where “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” held its U.S. Premiere in 2019.
Individual tickets and passes are available at FEST.AFI.com.
“As the world awaits ‘The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth,’ AFI is proud to celebrate where it all began,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI President & CEO. “And to do so with one of the greatest storytellers of our generation is a gift to all who love the movies.”
As previously announced, the 40th edition of AFI FEST will run October 21 to 25 at the TCL Chinese Theatres in the heart of Hollywood. This year’s festival now presents 158 films across 6 Red Carpet Premieres, 12 Special Screenings, 13 Luminaries selections, 18 Discovery titles, 16 World Cinema selections, 17 documentaries, 3 After Dark films, 4 Guest Artistic Director presentations, 45 films in the Short Film Competition and 24 films from the AFI Conservatory Showcase presented by AMC Global Media. Of the official selections, 45% are directed by women and 32% are directed by BIPOC filmmakers.
The full lineup represents 50 countries and includes 12 official submissions for Best International Feature at the 99th Academy Award: “9 Temples to Heaven” (Thailand); “All of a Sudden” (Japan); “Ben’imana” (Rwanda); “Citizen Osama” (Palestine); “Elephants in the Fog” (Nepal); “Everytime” (Germany); “The Meltdown” (Chile); “Nina Roza” (Canada); “Possible Love” (South Korea); “Rehearsals for a Revolution” (United Kingdom); “Rose” (Austria) and “We Are All Strangers” (Singapore).
The festival will open with the U.S. premiere of “Wildwood” and Close With “Being Heumann.” Additional Red Carpet Premieres Include the World Premiere of “The Mosquito Bowl,” “I Play Rocky” and “Ray Gunn.” Special Screenings Include “14th,” “Ashes,” “Behemoth!,” “Bitter Christmas,” “Bunker,” “Clarissa,” “Elsinore,” “Josephine,” “The Man I Love,” “Mouse,” “Tangles” and “Wild Horse Nine.”
This year’s Guest Artistic Directors are Academy Award-winning filmmakers Phil Lord and Chris Miller. The Guest Artistic Director Program will include “An Evening with Lord and Miller,” which will feature a Q&A with the directors followed by a screening of “2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968) As Well as Screenings of “Harold and Maude” (1971), “The Muppet Movie” (1979) and “Rififi” (1955).
Explore the full program for AFI Fest 2026 presented by Canva.
Canva is the exclusive Presenting Sponsor of AFI Fest. FIJI Water is the festival’s Official Water Sponsor. American Airlines is the Official Airline of the festival.
Passes to AFI Fest 2026 are now available for purchase online at FEST.AFI.com. Festivalgoers can choose from the Star Pass, Patron Pass and the new Marquee Pass. The AFI Fest Star Pass features access to all screenings (excluding Red Carpet Premieres), early screening selection and theater access, access to the AFI Fest Lounge, AFI Fest merch and free rush access. The Patron Pass features all the benefits of the Star Pass, plus access to Red Carpet Premieres and priority screening selection and theater access.
AFI Fest is recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as a qualifying festival for the Live Action, Animated and Documentary Short Film categories for the annual Academy Awards. AFI Fest is also a qualifying festival for consideration for the British Short Film categories of both the BAFTA Film Awards and the British Independent Film Awards (BIFA).
AFI is a nonprofit, donor-powered organization. Join AFI’s Premiere Circle to support the American Film Institute and enjoy access to exclusive one-of-a-kind opportunities at AFI events, including AFI Fest.
Canva, the all-in-one visual communication and collaboration platform, returns as the exclusive Presenting Sponsor of AFI Fest 2026. Built to empower everyone across the entertainment industry, from screenwriters and directors to producers, production teams and studios, Canva helps bring ideas from early concept to screen. Entertainment professionals use Canva to pitch projects and secure buy-in, develop storyboards and mood boards, plan productions, collaborate with cast and crew, create marketing campaigns and promotional assets, and build presentations that bring creative visions to life.
Canva will be integrated throughout AFI Fest including hosting industry networking events and hands-on training workshops for filmmakers, while powering the festival’s digital and printed materials. Entertainment professionals can explore resources to pitch projects, plan shoots and bring creative visions to life at canva.com/entertainment.
About the American Film Institute (AFI)
The American Film Institute (AFI) is a nonprofit organization with a mandate to champion the moving image as an art form. Established in 1967, AFI launched the first comprehensive history of American film and sparked the movement for film preservation in the United States. In 1969, AFI opened the doors of the AFI Conservatory, a graduate-level program to train narrative filmmakers. The Conservatory, which counts Deniese Davis, Affonso Gonçalves, Susannah Grant, Matthew Libatique, David Lynch, Melina Matsoukas and Rachel Morrison as Alumni, is ranked one of the top film schools in America. AFI’s enduring traditions include the AFI Life Achievement Award, which honors the masters for work that has stood the test of time; AFI AWARDS, which celebrates the creative ensembles of the most outstanding screen stories of the year; and scholarly efforts such as the AFI Catalog of Feature Films and the AFI Archive that preserve film history for future generations. AFI exhibition programs include AFI FEST and year-round exhibition at the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in Maryland. AFI Movie Club is a destination for movie lovers from around the world to celebrate and engage with the art form every day. Other pioneering programs include workshops aimed at elevating emerging storytellers and technology, including AFI DWW+ and the AFI Cinematography Intensive Workshop. Read about all of these programs and more at AFI.com and follow us on social media at Facebook.com/AmericanFilmInstitute, YouTube.com/AFI, X.com/AmericanFilm, TikTok.com/@americanfilminstitute and Instagram.com/AmericanFilmInstitute.